


Sokka, what did you do?!

by ewinkie



Series: Zutara Drabble December 2020 [7]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Drunk Zuko (Avatar), Drunken Confessions, Ember Island (Avatar), F/M, Oblivious Katara, Season/Series 03, Soft Zuko, Zuko becomes friends with an imaginary dragon, Zutara Drabble December 2020, cactus juice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:33:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28144653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ewinkie/pseuds/ewinkie
Summary: When Katara and Suki head into town to pick up some vegetables, they return to find that Sokka has managed to convince Zuko to drink cactus juice (because it's the quenchiest!). And... He lets a few things slip regarding a certain waterbender.Written for Zutara Drabble December, Day 17: Feelin' Sentimental
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zutara Drabble December 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038174
Comments: 8
Kudos: 56
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	Sokka, what did you do?!

**Author's Note:**

> Just to clarify, this takes place between Ember Island Players and the Finale.

“Sokka, what the hell did you do?!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“Oh, really?! Then why is Zu—”

“There’s dragons on the ceiling. Hi dragons!” Zuko interrupts. He’s sprawled across the sofa, arm stretching upwards towards the ornate dragon sculpted onto the ceiling. The rest of the room looks like it’s been ransacked, and both Toph and Aang are nowhere to be seen.

Katara raises an eyebrown, then turns back to face her brother. “Why. Is. Zuko. Talking. T—”

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I’m trying to talk to the dragons.” Zuko yell-whispers, eyes fixed and unblinking towards the ceiling.

Another pointed glare gets a mumbled confession out of her dear brother. “Huh?”

“I said, he may have ingested some cactus juice.” Cactus juice. The stuff that made Sokka call a giant dust cloud a “giant mushy friend.” That cactus juice? Well, at least he has the decency to look sheepish. But… still.

“Cactus juice?! Suki and I run out for food because _you_ burnt the last of our vegetables, and in the _half hour_ we were gone, you lost Aang and Toph and got Zuko drunk on _cactus juice_?! What is wrong with you?”

“Hey, where is Suki?” Goodness gracious. _That’s_ what Sokka focuses on?

“She saw some shadows in the courtyard, so she went to make sure nothing was wrong. I’m glad one half of your 'sword and fan power couple of the century' has some common sense!”

Sokka holds up his hands placatingly. “That was probably just Aang and Toph. I sent them out to train once this started.” He gestures to Zuko, who is now standing on top of the sofa doing the Dancing Dragon. He’s not shooting any fire (thankfully), but has instead opted to make firey sound effects instead.

“And how exactly did this start?”

Sokka looks up at the ceiling, as though Zuko’s dragon friend will give him a good answer. When he finally responds to her question, his voice squeaks at first. That _cannot_ be good.

“Uhhh, so Zuko was telling me about these fancy parties he has to go to as a prince. And he mentioned offhandedly that he had to drink a bit of alcohol at them, and um… I didn’t want him to outdo me in front of Toph and Aang, so I mentioned the cactus juice incident—”

“You honestly expect me to believe that Zuko drank cactus juice just to outdo you?” His gaze falls to the floor.

“I may have triple dog-dared him to do it.”

“Sokka!”

“Katara, I didn’t think—”

Zuko sits up—he’d been on his back doing the dancing dragon with his feet. “Katara?!” Zuko looks around the ceiling, perhaps hoping to find her there.

“Yes, what about her, Zuko?” Sokka’s voice is tentative.

Zuko flops dramatically back onto the sofa. “Katara’s beautiful! She’s got pretty blue eyes, and she’s really graceful when she waterbends.” A dramatic sigh escapes him. “But she can’t know that I think that. Nuh-uh. She might stop being my friend,” he pouts. Katara turns bright red. Sokka snickers and gives her a shove towards the crazy prince.

“No, I don’t think you understand, Dragony. She’s more than just gorgeous. She’s strong, and she’s smart, and she’s brave, and she’s really, really kind, even when I don’t deserve it. Just _promise_ me you won’t tell her.” A pause. “Thanks, Dragony. You’re such a good friend.”

Katara decides to intervene before Zuko says anything else that he’d feel humiliated about once the effects of the cactus juice are gone. Some damage has already been done—Sokka’s laughing so hard that he’s crying—but she doesn’t want Zuko to feel _too_ embarrassed in the morning.

Besides, it’s not like he actually feels this way about her. It’s just the cactus juice talking for him. And the more he says now, the more it’ll hurt tomorrow when he takes it all back.

“Zuko.” He bolts up as though struck by lightning, and flabbergasted expression spreads across his face.

“Katara.” His eyes are as big as the peaches she just bought from the market. “Did you hear any of that?”

“I may have heard some of it.” Zuko pouts, his eyes still huge, giving him the appearance of an adorable, sad fish. Before she can stop herself, she hears her own voice say, “Is it true?”

He scrunches his nose, and turns to the side. “Zuko,” she presses on, “do you _like_ me?” He grumbles like a petulant child. “What?”

“I don’t wanna tell the truth, but I shouldn’t lie either. Lying is bad.” He flops his head back for a few seconds, then lifts it back up to face her. “Okay, so Dragony says I should tell the truth, and he’s a very good friend of mine, and he’s a dragon so he’s very smart, so I’m going to listen. I like you. A lot, Katara. And not like a friend, like a… like a crush! That’s what they call it!” He smiles at having recalled the right vocabulary. Then, he frowns. “But it’s okay that you don’t like me back. I understand.”

She smiles. “I didn’t say that, did I Zuko?” He looks up at her in awe. “It’s getting late, and you should probably sleep off that cactus juice.” He nods vigorously.

“Anything for you, Katara.”

She sighs. If only he’d say things like that when he was sober.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Ooooh, what if Zuko gets drunk and confesses to Katara?  
> Also me: *Isn't allowed to drink, so doesn't know what alcohol would actually be like*  
> Cactus juice, a fictional drug with very few appearances, letting me shape its effects to my will: Allow me to introduce myself.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> <3


End file.
